Celebrating 30 years of service! Exciting international cultural tours for citizen diplomats and peacemakers. Featuring home and school visits, Embassy visits, cultural exchanges, as well as highlights and pretrip study material.

Top Guides • Small Groups of both Men and WomenDiscover the world so you can make a difference!

"The only things I own which are still worth what they cost me are my travel memories, the mind pictures of places which I have seen which I have been hoarding like a happy miser for more than a half a century."

The Wild Europe to the East - The Balkans brochure is now complete. Click here to view the itinerary. (updated 1/14/2015)

The Russia in Iconic Winter brochure is now complete. Click here to view the itinerary or click here to download the full brochure as a 9-page PDF. (updated 1/1/2015) Price reduced to $2990!

"News from the Serious Traveler"

Posted 12/22/2014

News from Cuba

“Just returned from Cuba in November 2014” - Linda B.

Images from Linda (click for larger view):

Hello Gwen,

I've been meaning to write you and what better time than this historic day! Don't you wish you were there now to hear the church bells ringing? I had a wonderful time on the tour. I was glad to stay again at the Parque Centro as it is efficient and so nicely situated in Habana. Our guides Oscar and Lazaro were accommodating in every way, from the moment we met until our farewell at the airport. I enjoyed the architectural focus to this tour as well as the memorable people-people exchanges. The presenters and lectures were fascinating, and always piqued curiosity and further interest in this beautiful country and its people. As for our meals, we had delicious cuisine in friendly places. (My top favorite was the Vinales farm-table restaurant ). I want to thank Serious Traveler team for accommodating my dietary preferences. I tried to be low-key about it and Oscar was most helpful in communicating to the restaurant staff on my behalf. I had very good meals and found that the restaurants were more than happy to create and prepare a plant-based/ non-dairy entree.

I was able to make some music connections from colleagues in the States. I'm attaching a video of Cato, a well-known and respected Tres player in Havana. Aimee and I ventured down to the Cohiba Hotel one night to hear a jazz group recommended by another Cuban musician that I connected with in Havana.

I took almost 900 photos and 4 little videos. I am now in the process of sorting through them. Unfortunately, I brought a new camera with me and when I returned home, found that it was not the quality I had expected. But I have photos, even if they're not too sharp, and great memories of Cuba 2014!

"The people here are just delightful! When they ask me where I am from and I say, 'America, USA', they reply, 'We love America!' If only everyone was able to travel as I do! Just getting to know people makes you understand what a small world it is. Bahman is doing well with us, and we have a great driver. It is really a delux trip having such a small group. Cheers, Carol"

See the itinerary as they travel through Bulgaria Click here
Travel with us on this tour in 2012 Click here

"News from the Serious Traveler"

April 20, 2011
Greetings from Lebanon! We arrived from Syria yesterday afternoon after crossing the border, visiting Baalbek (a huge and amazing Roman city), stopping for lunch of famous Lebanese mezze and more, a taste of wine and tour through caves dating from the Roman period and then crossing the mountains, out of the clouds down to Beirut on the coast of a shimmering Mediterranean Sea. We just completed our first day of sightseeing that took us to the National Museum where we learned about the Phoenicians who had the first phonetic alphabet (get it -- Phoenicians-phonetic?); then to a mountain riddled with subterranean caves. Jetta is vying with a couple dozen other natural sites for the new 7 natural wonders of the world, and all agreed it should be included (along with the Grand Canyon and Halong Bay.) A stop at Byblos was amazing too. The site dates back to the third millennium BC, as do many other sites in what we know as the Cradle of Civilization along the Fertile Crescent. This area is the fabled birthplace of the Greek god Adonis. A city tour revealed stunning new buildings with the most exclusive shops side by side with excavations from Roman times. The city is also riddled with reminders of devastating wars. No one here wants another, and the neighboring Syrians don't either.

Every day has been a delight and we wish everyone who had intended to go with us, was actually here. It is close to midnight, and we head north to the Cedars of Lebanon tomorrow morning. The group is most congenial and we lingered over dinner, while Paulette and others regaled us with amusing travel stories. Even the national basketball team who was sharing the lovely dining room at the Radisson couldn?t ignore our laughter. Our travelers are the best. I must turn in, but will try to write more later. The same Paulette has taken hundreds of pictures and Ann had volunteered to edit them, so eventually we will put our experiences in writing and into a slideshow. Right now we are drinking up all the wonderful sensations of travel to new places.

Gwen

Photo by Paulette Lewis. View all the photos by Paulette in Syria Click Here or in Lebanon Click Here